2016 #PitchWars

Publishing Experience:Tooling around in fanfiction until shit got real.

Posted 19 July 2016 - 04:27 PM

Anyone else trying out this year? I've got a manuscript ready, and I could start querying, but I've eaten enough rejections over the last three ms's that I'm nervous to start with this one. So I figure, hey! A critique contest! Perfect!

Publishing Experience:Tooling around in fanfiction until shit got real.

Posted 28 July 2016 - 07:25 PM

Whereas I'm having the opposite problem. I wrote a YA fantasy where the main character, like me, is an aro/ace. And there's a discouraging amount of mentors who say they need at least a little romance in the submission to consider it.

I've heard so much about Pitch Wars but I have no idea how it works! Can one of you please explain it to me?? Thank you!

PitchWars is a contest where writers submit a query letter and a sample chapter to four mentors via an online form. These mentors are either editors or agented/published authors. There is a blog hop where you can browse the mentors and get to know them and their likes/dislikes. If a mentor likes your submission, they'd ask for more material (1-3 page synopsis or 50 pages or full MS). After a month of consideration, the mentors announce their picks for the mentees. Each mentor gets to choose only *one* mentee from more than fifty other submissions. So, yeah, it's a tough competition.

If chosen, the mentee revises the MS with the mentor for two months. The mentor sends her an edit letter and line edits the revised draft. The approach to mentoring is subjective.

At the end of two months, the pitch (35 words) and a sample (250 words) are showcased on Brenda Drake's website for the participating agents. The agents make requests for more material in the comment section if they like what they see.

This contest has a very high success rate. From the 2015 batch of mentees, fifty writers are now represented by agents. Some of them have already signed major publishing deals.

I missed last years pitchwars. I checked the links and twitter, but where exactly do we send our pitches to?

I am totally confused.

You write the pitch (query + 1st chapter) to PitchWars on an online submission form that opens on Brenda Drake's website (see above). The form remains open for three days. The date is announced in advance but it's not fixed. I'd say it opens around August.

Follow the hashtag and Brenda Drake on twitter to stay updated. Ask the mentors if you are still confused. They'd be more than happy to help you.